The Highland Council has lavished £16,000 on a luxury home for bats.

The local authority spent £12,000 of taxpayers’ cash on the two-storey wooden bathouse which boasts a tiled roof and dormer windows.

The authority paid a “bat consultant” a further £4,040 to advise on the project south of Inverness.

The house lies on the hamlet of Errogie, about 20 miles south of Inverness, where protected pipistrelle and brown long-eared bats roosted in the eaves and outbuildings of an elderly lady’s home.

When Mairi Greenaway died in February, her property was taken by Highland Council to cover nursing home fees. The council decided to demolish the property and build two homes for affordable rent on the site.

But because the plan robbed the bat colony of its home, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) stepped in and told council chiefs they would have to spend part of the cash accommodating the creatures.

The resulting bat home is an amazing 2.5m high (8ft), 5m (16ft) long and 4m (13ft) wide. The structure is so big a neighbouring landowner had to be asked to “lend” part of their property.

It is made from natural-sawn, untreated pine six inches thick. Some original beams from the demolished cottage added to the design to give the bat house a rustic touch.

The bats can enter their new home through two dormer windows built into the roof.

Ben Ross, SNH’s licensing manager, told Deadline.co.uk: “We generally ask for a replacement on a like-for-like basis, and this can usually be incorporated easily into new developments in existing or proposed structures, such as stores or garages.

“Most importantly, we try to ensure that any development provides appropriate roosting opportunities for bats in the long-term, as is the case here.”

A Highland Council spokeswoman said they were required by SNH to get a European Protected Species Licence for the affordable homes development.

“The licence required the provision of Bat Compensatory measures as specified in the Bat Protection Plan, which forms part of the Licence,” said a spokesman.

“It is of high specification in order to provide a durable structure.”